Sawt Falasteen - Ukraine sees mass power outages from 'technical malfunction'

Authorities restored power to most critical infrastructure in Kyiv by around 2:00 pm (1200 GMT), Ukraine's energy minister said, but he warned Ukrainian households may have to wait longer for it to return in some regions.

Kyiv's metro system completely suspended operations on Saturday due to the power cut, the first time that has happened since the 2022 start of the war with Russia.

It resumed operations several hours later after paralysing transport for thousands.

Electricity had been restored to residential customers in Odesa in the south and Kharkiv in the northeast, the energy ministry said.

Earlier, energy minister Denys Shmygal said on Telegram that a "technical malfunction" caused "a simultaneous shutdown of the 400-kilovolt line between the power grids of Romania and Moldova and the 750-kilovolt line between western and central Ukraine".

Most of the Moldovan capital Chisinau was temporarily without power, though it was largely back on line by 3:40 pm, according to the Moldovan energy ministry.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had called the incident an "emergency".

The site of the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which still requires electricity, particularly to keep its cooling and control systems operating, experienced a brief power outage, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"No direct impact on nuclear safety expected, but overall situation remains precarious," the IAEA posted on X.

The issue piles further pressure on Ukraine's energy grid, which was already in a fragile state due to weeks of intense Russian bombardment.

Russia has targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure throughout its nearly four-year invasion but Kyiv says this winter has been the toughest yet, with attacks cutting power and heating to millions during sub-zero temperatures.

The Kremlin, which has bombarded Ukraine's energy grid for weeks, said on Friday it was refraining from attacks on Kyiv until Sunday following an appeal from US President Donald Trump.

Around 800,000 passengers use the Kyiv metro system daily, according to data published last year.

Residents also use its 52 stations as bomb shelters during Russian attacks.

Moldova produces its own power but also imports it, mainly from Romania, as well as Ukraine.

Z.Ramadan--SF-PST